Project Uncle Khoo

2 days ago, I had the opportunity to meet a gentleman who showed me the strength of winning the moment even when you can't win the day. 

I'd like to dedicate this post to Uncle Khoo. 

Started with a drive on a stressful, long and hot  afternoon packed with errands. I spotted an elderly uncle from far, who fell off from his bicycle and was struggling to get up. 

Like anyone else would do, myself and a despatch rider stopped and got down from our vehicles to help the struggling uncle. As we were lifting up the bicycle, it broke into half due to the weight load and the condition of the bike. 

Not long after, another kind hearted family in a SUV stopped and offered to help. Thank you Abang Khaidir and family ( hope I remembered your name correctly!)

We ask uncle where he was headed to. Turns out he had just finished with his Kuih business and was on his way home. What shocked us was when he told us that lives in Cheras which was 10km away and approximately an hour away judging by the condition of the bike and his age.

We offered to drive him home but he insisted that he could continue his journey on his own and didn't want to trouble anyone even after we told him it is impossible for him to get home with the bike broken. We then asked if he has any family we could call to come get him. 

He sat down and took out his wallet with numbers written on different papers and told us to call his brother. Sadly it wasn't convenient for his brother to come so we decided to drive him home ourselves. Abang Khaidir was carrying uncles belongings while I had uncle as my precious cargo. 

2 min into our journey, I ask uncle how much he makes in a day  if he manages to sell everything off. He giggled and responded with joy and said 

" Wah Today was a good day ! I manage to make RM70 - RM80 ! " 

I couldn't hold my emotion and started tearing. I got emotional because of how excited he was. Most of us would easily spend that amount on 1 dinner, but that's what he makes on a good day.  

He then asked if I worked as a Grab driver. I didn't want him to feel bad about taking my time so I said yes I am but I am on my break. He was feeling grateful and kept thanking me and told me that it was his lucky day that he met me. I joked and said you should pick a lucky number and buy the lottery ! He told me that he doesn't gamble but he would put RM5 aside everyday when he comes home from work. 

Once we arrived at his place, Abang Khaidir handed uncle some money but he refused to accept it. Abang Khaidir insisted anyway and carried on with his day.To Abang Khaidir and family, If for some reason you get to read this post one day, thank you from Uncle and myself for taking the time to help!

Before leaving, I asked uncle if I could take a photo of him so I could get my friends to support him whenever they are in the area. So to all my friends and wheoever is reading this, Uncle sells Kuih and Meehoon near the Bukit Bintang McDonald's and MRT area. 

This crowd funding will be to get him a brand new bike + some custom compartments for him to continue his business. I've also pass him some money so he doesn't need to worry about not working for a few days. 

If anyone knows off any workshop which does custom jobs for bicycle please spread the word !

If there's one lesson I learned from Uncle is that, no matter how bad you think your day is, there's always something to be grateful for. Thank you Uncle Khoo ❤️